Laura Spinney, "Proto: How One Ancient Language Went Global" (Bloomsbury, 2025) New Books In Language podcast

45:26

While other ancient nonalphabetic scripts—Sumerian cuneiform, Egyptian hieroglyphs, and Mayan hieroglyphs—are long extinct, Chinese characters, invented over three thousand years ago, are today used by well over a billion people to write Chinese and Japanese. In medieval East Asia, the written Classical Chinese language knit the region together in a common intellectual enterprise that encompassed religion, philosophy, historiography, political theory, art, and literature. Literacy in Classical Chinese set the stage for the adaptation of Chinese characters into ways of writing non-Chinese languages like Vietnamese and Korean, which differ dramatically from Chinese in vocabularies and grammatical structures. Because of its unique status in the modern world, myths and misunderstandings about Chinese characters abound. Where does this writing system, so different in form and function from alphabetic writing, come from? How does it really work? How did it come to be used to write non-Chinese languages? And why has it proven so resilient? By exploring the spread and adaptation of the script across two millennia and thousands of miles, Chinese Characters across Asia: How the Chinese Script Came to Write Japanese, Korean, and Vietnamese (University of Washington Press, 2025) by Dr. Zev Handel addresses these questions and provides insights into human cognition and culture. Written in an approachable style and meant for readers with no prior knowledge of Chinese script or Asian languages, it presents a fascinating story that challenges assumptions about speech and writing. This interview was conducted by Dr. Miranda Melcher whose book focuses on post-conflict military integration, understanding treaty negotiation and implementation in civil war contexts, with qualitative analysis of the Angolan and Mozambican civil wars. You can find Miranda’s interviews on New Books with Miranda Melcher , wherever you get your podcasts. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/language…

New Books in Language

1
The Case for ASL Instruction for Hearing Heritage Signers 33:27

11 days ago33:27

33:27

In this episode of the Language on the Move Podcast, Emily Pacheco speaks with Associate Professor Su Kyong Isakson (Community College of Baltimore County, USA) about her 2018 paper, The Case for Heritage ASL Instruction for Hearing Heritage Signers . The conversation focuses on heritage signers, differentiated instruction, and sign language interpreter education. For additional resources, show notes, and transcripts, go here . Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/language…

New Books in Language

1
Laura Spinney, "Proto: How One Ancient Language Went Global" (Bloomsbury, 2025) 55:44

12 days ago55:44

55:44

Star. Stjarna. Setareh. Thousands of miles apart, humans look up at the night sky and use the same word to describe what they see. Listen to these English, Icelandic, and Iranian words, and you can hear echoes of one of history's most unlikely, miraculous journeys. For all of these languages – and hundreds more – share a single ancient source. In a mysterious Big Bang of its own, this proto tongue exploded outwards, forming new worlds as it spread east and west. Today, nearly half of humanity speaks an Indo-European language. How did this happen? In Proto: How One Ancient Language Went Global (HarperCollins, 2025), acclaimed journalist Laura Spinney sets off to find out. Travelling over the steppe and the silk roads, she follows in the footsteps of nomads and monks, Amazon warriors and lion kings – the ancient peoples who spread their words far and wide. In the present, Spinney meets the scientists, archaeologists and linguists racing to reanimate this lost world. What they have learned has vital lessons for our modern age, as people and their languages are on the move again. Proto is a revelatory portrait of world history in its own words. This interview was conducted by Dr. Miranda Melcher whose book focuses on post-conflict military integration, understanding treaty negotiation and implementation in civil war contexts, with qualitative analysis of the Angolan and Mozambican civil wars. You can find Miranda’s interviews on New Books with Miranda Melcher , wherever you get your podcasts. Let's face it, most of the popular podcasts out there are dumb. NBN features scholars (like you!), providing an enriching alternative to students. We partner with presses like Oxford, Princeton, and Cambridge to make academic research accessible to all. Please consider sharing the New Books Network with your students. Download this poster here to spread the word. Please share this interview on Instagram , LinkedIn , or Bluesky . Don't forget to subscribe to our Substack here to receive our weekly newsletter. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/language…

New Books in Language

1
Lorna Gibb, "Rare Tongues: The Secret Stories of Hidden Languages" (Princeton UP, 2025) 39:47

13 days ago39:47

39:47

An enthralling tour of the world’s rarest and most endangered languages Languages and cultures are becoming increasingly homogenous, with the resulting loss of a rich linguistic tapestry reflecting unique perspectives and ways of life. Rare Tongues: The Secret Stories of Hidden Languages (Princeton University Press, 2025) tells the stories of the world’s rare and vanishing languages, revealing how each is a living testament to human resilience, adaptability, and the perennial quest for identity. Taking readers on a captivating journey of discovery, Lorna Gibb explores the histories of languages under threat or already extinct as well as those in resurgence, shedding light on their origins, development, and distinctive voices. She travels the globe—from Australia and Finland to India, the Canary Islands, Namibia, Scotland, and Paraguay—showing how these languages are not mere words and syntax but keepers of diverse worldviews, sites of ethnic conflict, and a means for finding surprising commonalities. Readers learn the basics of how various language systems work—with vowels and consonants, whistles and clicks, tonal inflections, or hand signs—and how this kaleidoscope of self-expression carries vital information about our planet, indigenous cultures and tradition, and the history and evolution of humankind. Rare Tongues is essential reading for anyone concerned about the preservation of endangered languages and an eloquent and disarmingly personal meditation on why the world’s linguistic heritage is so fundamental to our shared experience—and why its loss should worry us all. Lorna Gibb is associate professor of creative writing and linguistics at the University of Stirling. Caleb Zakarin is editor at the New Books Network. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/language…

New Books in Language

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Christian Ilbury, "Researching Language and Digital Communication" (Routledge, 2025) 44:32

19 days ago44:32

44:32

Brynn Quick speaks with Dr Christian Ilbury about his new book, Researching Language and Digital Communication: A Student Guide , published by Routledge. The book is an introduction to research on language and digital communication, providing an overview of relevant sociolinguistic concepts, analytical frameworks, and methodological approaches commonly used in the field. It’s a practical guide designed to help students develop independent research projects on language and digital communication. Christian is a Lecturer in Sociolinguistics at the University of Edinburgh whose research explores the social meaning of linguistic variation. His research specifically focuses on the interrelation of digital culture and language variation and change with a concentration on the linguistic and digital practices of young people. For additional resources, show notes, and transcripts, go here . Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/language…

New Books in Language

1
Yellowlees Douglas, "Writing for the Reader's Brain: A Science-Based Guide" (Cambridge UP, 2024) 1:01:55

23 days ago1:01:55

1:01:55

What makes one sentence easy to read and another a slog that demands re-reading? Where do you put information you want readers to recall? Drawing on cognitive neuroscience, psychology and psycholinguistics, Writing for the Reader’s Brain (Cambridge University Press, 2025) provides a practical, how-to guide on how to write for your reader. It introduces the five 'Cs' of writing - clarity, continuity, coherence, concision, and cadence - and demonstrates how to use these to bring your writing to life. Dr. Yellowlees Douglas is the founder of ReadersBrain Academy and has spent over twenty-five years teaching writing to everyone from professors to freshmen. This interview was conducted by Renee Hale, who holds a Ph.D. in Chemical Engineering and works in R&D for the food and beverage industry. She is the author of The Nightstorm Files , a voracious reader, and enjoys sharing the joy of new perspectives with listeners. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/language…

New Books in Language

1
Mara Nicosia, "Syriac Lexis and Lexica: Compiling Ancient and Modern Vocabularies" (Gorgias Press, 2024) 1:01:34

25 days ago1:01:34

1:01:34

Syriac Lexis and Lexica: Compiling Ancient and Modern Vocabularies (Gorgias Press, 2024) publishes the papers presented at the round table on Syriac lexicology and lexicography held at the 13th Symposium Syriacum (Paris, 2022). An international group of scholars approaches this field from several new angles and shows how much remains to be done, from the creation of new lexical databases to the update of previously existing ones and the study of new lexica that have been recently discovered. The multifocal approach adopted by the contributions to this volume testifies to the richness of this field, which offers several avenues for further inquiry. The volume is designed for scholars in Syriac, as well as for those interested in the contacts between Syriac and its neighboring languages from the past and the present, such as Greek, Arabic, Iranian languages and Neo-Aramaic varieties. New Books in Late Antiquity is presented by Ancient Jew Review . Mara Nicosia is a British Academy Newton International Fellow at Durham University (UK). Trained as a Semitic philologist, she earned her PhD from the University of Naples "L'Orientale" (2020). Her primary research focus is the development of rhetoric as an academic subject in Syriac schools, but she also works on the contacts between Greek and various types of Aramaic and on technical vocabularies in comparison. Michael Motia teaches in Classics and Religious Studies at UMass Boston. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/language…

New Books in Language

1
Gestures and Emblems: A Discussion with Lauren Gawne 36:26

26 days ago36:26

36:26

Brynn Quick speaks with Dr. Lauren Gawne , about cross-cultural variation in gesture use. In this episode, Brynn and Lauren discuss a paper that Lauren wrote in 2024 with co-author Dr. Kensey Cooperrider entitled “Emblems: Meaning at the interface of language and gesture” . Brynn and Lauren talk all about how emblems are different to gestures, cultural uses of emblems, emoji, and how emblems might be changing in the digital age. Discussions in this episode include references to Lauren’s book Gesture: A Slim Guide (Oxford UP, 2025), the video episode on gesture that Lingthusiasm made and Gretchen McCulloch’s book Because Internet . For additional resources, show notes, and transcripts, go here . Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/language…

New Books in Language

1
Ryan M. Nefdt, "The Philosophy of Theoretical Linguistics: A Contemporary Outlook" (Cambridge UP, 2024) 1:07:56

29 days ago1:07:56

1:07:56

Between the study of specific languages and the philosophy of language lies what Ryan Nefdt calls a “Goldilocks zone” of theoretical issues related to language. In The Philosophy of Theoretical Linguistics (Cambridge University Press, 2024), Nefdt introduces and explores the elements in this zone, including different theories of syntax, semantics, and pragmatics, and differing views of how language evolved, which languages are possible, and what defines language. Nefdt, a professor of philosophy at the University of Cape Town, shows where dominant linguistic theories, such as Chomskian syntactic theory and truth-conditional semantics, fit in a generalized framework where a key theoretical dimension is the role of social context. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/language…

New Books in Language

1
Joseph J. Diorio, "A Few Words about Words" (Beaufort Books, 2021) 30:43

5 weeks ago30:43

30:43

Written by a self-taught grammarian, A Few Words About Words (Beaufort Books, 2021) offers an accessible and engaging guide to mastering the English language. A simple mistake, like writing your instead of you’re or there instead of they’re , can make the difference between winning or losing an opportunity. A missing comma can spark a PR disaster, while a well-crafted sentence can be remembered for generations. However, even native English speakers often struggle with the language. Based on Joe Diorio’s widely circulated and beloved newsletter of the same title, A Few Words About Words distills over 30 years of witty, insightful observations on the common—and not-so-common—grammar mistakes we all make. If you’ve ever wondered whether also should come before or after a verb, debated preventive vs. preventative , or questioned the true importance of the Oxford comma, this book offers clarity and reassurance. In this episode, Ibrahim Fawzy interviews Joe Diorio about writing and grammar. Ibrahim Fawzy is a literary translator and writer based in Boston. His interests include translation studies, Arabic literature, ecocriticism, disability studies, and migration literature. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/language…

New Books in Language

1
Lingua Napoletana and Language Oppression 40:07

5 weeks ago40:07

40:07

Have you ever heard of Lingua Napoletana or Neapolitan, the language of Naples? In this episode of the Language on the Move Podcast , Tazin Abdullah speaks to Massimiliano Canzanella , a Neapolitan language activist. The conversation delves into the history of the Neapolitan language and the interplay of culture, race, and national identity that have contributed to the oppression of the language and its speakers. Massimiliano also discusses his own journey as a language activist and the movement to preserve Neapolitan, including his novels, Set Your Soul To It and You Don’t Say , which were the first ever to be written entirely in Neapolitan (and also available in English translation) For additional resources, show notes, and transcripts, go here . Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/language…

New Books in Language

1
Ian Rapley, "Green Star Japan: Esperanto and the International Language Question, 1880–1945" (U Hawaii Press, 2024) 1:07:12

5 weeks ago1:07:12

1:07:12

Ian Rapley’s Green Star Japan: Esperanto and the International Language Question, 1880-1945 (U Hawaii Press, 2024) is a sociopolitical history of the “planned” language of Esperanto in the Japanese Empire. Esperanto was invented in the nineteenth century to address the problem of international communication. This was an issue of great and growing interest to various groups within the burgeoning Japanese Empire, and Rapley shows that Japanese Esperanto aficionados and advocates could be found working both with the League of Nations and the Soviet Union, and were active in cities and the countryside working through questions of language, identity, modernity, and communication through and around the medium of Esperanto. Green Star Japan is thus not just a (socio)linguistic history, it is a book about what it means to be modern and how people make sense of their place in a changing world. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/language…

New Books in Language

1
Genevieve Guenther, "The Language of Climate Politics: Fossil-Fuel Propaganda and How to Fight It" (Oxford UP, 2024) 30:32

7 weeks ago30:32

30:32

The Language of Climate Politics (Oxford UP, 2024) offers readers new ways to talk about the climate crisis that will help get fossil fuels out of our economy and save our planet. It's an analysis of the current discourse of American climate politics, but also a critical history of the terms that most directly influence the way not just conservatives but centrists on both sides of the political divide think and talk about climate change. In showing how those terms lead to mistaken beliefs about climate change and its solutions, the book equips readers with a new vocabulary that will enable them to neutralize climate propaganda and fight more effectively for a livable future. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/language…

New Books in Language

1
Intercultural Competence in the Digital Age 34:54

8 weeks ago34:54

34:54

Brynn Quick speaks with Dr Amy McHugh , an Academic Facilitator at the National Centre for Cultural Competence at the University of Sydney. Dr McHugh’s research focuses on the roles of technology and motivation in the continuous pursuit of cultural competence, and she facilitates workshops for both staff and students at the University of Sydney on these topics while working as the unit coordinator for the centre’s OLE: The Fundamentals of Cultural Competence. She also teaches online courses to undergraduate and graduate students in intercultural communication for the State University of New York at Oswego. In this episode, Brynn and Amy discuss Amy’s doctoral thesis entitled “ Learning From Student Perceptions and Peer Feedback in a Virtual Exchange: Reconceptualizing Intercultural Competence as ‘ICCCSA’ – Intercultural Competence as a Co-Constructed and Situated Achievement ”. This thesis explored Collaborative Online International Learning (COIL) and its influence on (inter)cultural competence in digital spaces. References in this episode include the Intersectionality Matters Podcast , the National Centre for Cultural Competence and How to be Anti-Racist by Dr Ibram X. Kendi For additional resources, show notes, and transcripts, go here . Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/language…

New Books in Language

1
Emma Borg and Sarah A. Fisher, "Meaning: a Very Short Introduction" (Oxford UP, 2024) 1:06:40

9 weeks ago1:06:40